On January 30th, the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) and the European Humanist Federation (EHF) announced a new project to help abolish blasphemy laws around the world. In many parts of the world, any criticism of religion can lead to a prison sentence or worse. The End Blasphemy Laws campaign has a lofty goal to reach.
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A new book titled ‘Atheist Heart, Humanist Mind‘ by Lex Bayer and John Figdor, included a set of 10 ‘non-commandments’ for the non-believer. The authors also held a contest to crowdsource an alternative set. I was pleased that I agreed with a majority of the items judged the winner. They are good guidelines for living as a Humanist.
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One of the constant gnats of contention in the Humanist movement is the a struggle between people who want to have a complete, clean break from religion and those who complain about humanists mocking or ridiculing religion. In a recent blog post, PZ Myers makes some excellent points why secular humanism is not just a replacement for religion.
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November 9th is the birthday of Carl Sagan (1934-1996), an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences. He is best known as creator and host of the seminal science TV show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980). Sagan was known as a skeptic and freethinker. That is why today is considered Carl Sagan Day by many in the freethought community.
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Back in early August, delegates from around the world convened the World Humanist Congress at Oxford in the United Kingdom. One major activity was adopting and announcing the Oxford Declaration on Freedom of Thought and Expression. Even in our advanced modern era, we still need to point out the need for freedom of thought and expression.
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Michael Brown was shot by a police officer on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri. His shooting led to several weeks of protests, which sometimes got violent. His shooting illustrates not just racism but much worse. The treatment of Michael Brown and African-Americans like him shows a general attempt to dehumanize a group of people. If we stay silent about it, how long before we are next?
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